You can't Hyde
by Swiftstart
Summary: When a lost earring leads to the awakening of an ancient witch, old school secrets are unearthed and magic spells are sent flying left and right. Some humorous, others potentially disastrous. Can the monsters work past their differences to piece together the past and save the future?
1. Chapter 1

It's pretty easy for me to forget how lucky I am. I came to Monster High without knowing literally anything outside of what I saw in 15 days worth of movies and magazines. But despite that I opened myself up and made friends. I wasn't afraid of being unique, and well, a monster. What I didn't realize though was that not everyone was like me. Some people never open up. Some people let themselves get caught up in their own insecurities rather than giving other monsters a try. And while that sounds like no big deal, it can end disastrously, as me and my ghoulfriends would soon learn.

"Monsters, are you ready to PARTY?" Holt's voice rang down the catacomb halls as Frankie and her friends hurried towards the party, desperately hoping they weren't too late.

"Ghouls come on!" Frankie urged, taking the steps to the party door two at a time.

"Frankie slow down, it's just a party, relax a little." Clawdeen chided, shaking her head as she followed behind.

"I know, I know.." Frankie said trying not to sound too antsy, "It's just, it's a secret party and that just makes it so much more exciting!"

"How secret can it be if everyone who gets the Ghostly Gossip texts knows about it?" Clawdeen questioned, raising a brow.

"And Holt's music is totes loud," Draculaura added, making up the rear of the trio, not being able to scale as many steps as the other two on her short legs.

"I bet everyone in New Salem can hear it through the sewer grates." Clawdeen added.

"Oh I don't know, it's just the idea of it, you know?" Frankie said grinning ear to ear, "I mean, it's a sort-of secret party on the very edge of the Catacombs, taking place at midnight in a hidden room you have to pull on a candle holder to get into,"

"It's 11:45 by my clock, not quite midnight," Clawdeen pointed out obtusely before shrugging, "All right, let's just get in there, kay? The sooner we're dancing and partying, the better."

"Hang on, Draculaura, where's Clawd?" Frankie's bolts sparked as she realized that the little vampire didn't have her date with her.

"Oh he is already at the party, Cleo wanted all the boys to help set up." Draculaura replied cheerfully.

"Only Cleo." Clawdeen tutted as they finally arrived at the door to the party, "Alright, check-up before we go in. How do we look?"

"Is my lipstick crooked?" Draculaura asked, going cross-eyed as if she could somehow see her own face. Make-up was definitely one reason Frankie was glad she wasn't a vampire. If after sixteen-hundred years Draculaura still couldn't apply eyeliner on her own, simply for want of a reflection, then being a vampire could not be worth it.

"It's good Draculaura," Clawdeen observed after giving her friend the critical eye, "Now how bout me? Fur sticking up anywhere?"

"Nope! Your all good, let's just get in there already, please?" Frankie begged, about ready to lose her mind. How was it that just plain getting to the party took this long? She vaguely remembered in Teen Scream magazine something about always planning ahead and organizing your time wisely. She'd clearly have to take that advice to heart if she ever wanted to make it to a party on time. Although she did also remember a paragraph on it being ok to be fashionably late, not that she was sure just how late 'fashionably' was. That was something the magazine had left out. There was always something that wasn't there. Oh well, she'd just have to ask Cleo when she got the chance… although she had a sneaking suspicion that Cleo's answer would be something along the lines of 'whenever I get to the party silly,'.

"All right Frankie, we can go in. Keep your stitches together." Clawdeen said, pulling on the wall candelabra, opening the 'secret' door to the 'secret' party.

Practically every monster they knew was there; Robecca, Venus and Rochelle; Heath and Manny; and of course Clawd. Draculaura disappeared to hang with him literally the moment they entered. Only they hadn't been there more than ten minutes before disaster struck, disaster of the Cleo kind.

"I can't find it anywhere!" The Egyptian princess moaned dramatically, leaning in mock-falling style against Deuce, whose stability and patience could be applauded.

"Find what? What's the matter?" Frankie asked, practically yelling against the loud music.

"My earring! I was wearing it just a few minutes ago and now I can't find it anywhere!" she clasped both hands over her heart and looked like she was about to swoon.

"All this drama over a lost earring?" Clawdeen observed, unimpressed.

"Where'd you last see it last?" Frankie asked helpfully.

"What?" Cleo shouted back at her, the music making almost all communication efforts pointless.

"Where did you see it last?" Frankie yelled now.

"Oh, back in the hall I think," Cleo replied. The hallway. That figures. Get to the party only to have to leave it already. Ah well, it was for a good cause. Friendship, and fashion. Can't beat that.

"Let's go look there then!" Frankie shouted, beckoning for both Cleo and Clawdeen to follow, Deuce stayed back; the hosts boyfriend should at least be present, especially since that kinda made him co-host.

Out in the hall again, much to Frankie's disappointment, Cleo explained the problem at normal sound intervals.

"I had gone to grab some things for the party when much to my surprise one of my designer Ghositerre earrings had simply disappeared! And this was my first time wearing them, oh it's simply the worst possible thing." Cleo held a hand to her brow to fully emphasize what a terrible situation this was.

"Well it must be around here somewhere, let's take a look, where'd you get the party stuff from?" Frankie asked, trying to stay optimistic. Hey, who said a little treasure hunt would hurt, right?

"Over there," Cleo was in full on mummy-melodrama mode now, with one hand at her brow and the other pointing vaguely off into the dark distance.

"Over there? Cleo! Opereta said that was the one place we under no circumstances should go!" Clawdeen cried out, "What the ghoul were you getting?"

"Oh well I couldn't help but notice that they had quite the selection of old chairs and tables over there, and I thought, why not?" Cleo began staunchly, "We need furniture at the party. After all, where else would we put the food and the punch? Where would Holt put his turntables? Where would the boring party guests lurk if not by a table? Where would-"

"All right. All right, we get it." Clawdeen cut Cleo off before she could really get going, "Let's just find the earring and get back to the party already."

They walked down the hall into the 'forbidden' zone of the catacombs. On the walls sign after sign warned 'TURN BACK!' and 'DO NOT ENTER!', which only served to make Frankie nervous.

"Cleo, um, just how far back did you go for these tables?" Frankie asked nervously, jumping as a rat scurried by underfoot.

"Oh not too far, we're almost there now." Cleo replied casually.

"You De Nile's really have a thing for not following directions huh?" Clawdeen commented, gesturing towards the latest sign: 'EVEN IF UNDEAD RUN!'.

"Oh please, our tomb used to be full of all sorts of inscriptions that said the same thing," Cleo said rolling her eyes, "It's really the only way to keep the rabble out."

"Why am I not surprised." Clawdeen muttered, torch in one hand as they came to a stop. The floor was covered in dust that was imprinted with footprints of the boys and indentations of where all those tables and chairs had been. A suspicious burnmark suggested Heath had been there.

"We're here!" Cleo announced, arms raised in the air. Right, now where's that earring? Frankie wondered, beginning to look around. It must be here somewhere… ah ha! Frankie made out a glint of gold in the murk but as she reached down to pick it up it ran away.

"Aaah!" Frankie shrieked with surprise as a giant rat ran off with the earring in it's mouth, "Cleo your earring!"

"Oh. My. Ra. My poor Ghostierre! In the mouth of a rat?!" Cleo roared, "After it!"

Frankie and Clawdeen exchanged glances for a brief second of 'oh brother.' before taking off after the rodent right behind Cleo.

"No no no! Get back here!" Cleo seethed as the rat disappeared through a rat sized crack in the wall.

"Oh I'm sorry Cleo," Frankie said, while catching her breath, "If you want you can borrow one of my earrings, I brought extras just in case and-"

"But I want MY earring." Cleo moaned, collapsing onto her knees, leaving Frankie at a bit of a loss. Theres another strike for Teen Scream magazine. Bringing extra things in case your friends forgot theres? Yea, didn't work out so much. She'd really have to write the editor…

"Oh grow up Cleo," Clawdeen said rolling her eyes and tapping a very obvious looking rock on the wall. The wall swung open. "See? It's probably in there, relax-" Clawdeen stopped dead as she stood in the now open doorway.

"Clawdeen what's the matter?" Frankie asked moving to get a better look, "Oh my ghoul." She whispered.

"What? What is it?" Cleo shoved between the two of them and gasped.

The room was expansive; with tall pillars and a weird skylight that was at least four stories up. And it was filled with to the brim with bling, and rats. Literal mountains of shiny lost accessories covered the room, entirely hiding the floor and surrounded a statue which stood in the very center of the room. The statue itself wasn't a pretty sight. It was of a witch who appeared to be screaming and either casting a spell or threatening to rip out someones throat.

"I think I know where my charm bracelet went." Clawdeen muttered as the three of them cautiously entered the room.

"No kidding." Frankie remarked, "Where'd it all come from?"

"You don't think the rats?" Cleo began, just as a couple of rats ran in with bracelets. Apparently even the rodents knew about the 'secret' party.

"Yup. Definitely the rats." Clawdeen replied, wrinkling her nose, "Nasty."

"They must have been collecting these things for years. Like forever practically." Frankie gawked as she saw one pair of earrings that could only have been from the 70's.

"Right. Well, let's find my earring and get out of here, okay?" Cleo said, starting to look from one pile to another.

"How do you expect us to do that? There must be more bling in here than there is in..in well anywhere!" Clawdeen protested.

"Well it must be here somewhere." Cleo shot back, arms crossed.

"Yea, well where? Cause I sure as heck don't see it!" Clawdeen fired back.

"Look guys! There goes the rat!" Frankie said pointing as the rat from before ran right to the statue with the earring in mouth.

"Oh wonderful! Good eye Frankie," Cleo said, starting to climb piles of jewelry to get to it when the statue lit up, and cracked. The moment it cracked it sent off a sonic boom or something and sent the girls flying back into the walls, along with random piles of jewelry.

"What in the world-?" Clawdeen began only to be cut off by Frankie who had stuck her hand over both Clawdeen and Cleo's mouths.

"Sssh!" She warned, nodding towards the statue which had now dissolved into light and was reforming into the shape of a witch girl about their visible age.

"Finally!" The witch girl announced, looking her arms over, "I'm free!"

Well, that's original, Frankie thought dryly, thankful for the enormous piles of bling hiding their presence. The witch girl had the coloration of a normie, with long black hair tucked under a big pointy hat. Her clothes were really outdated, by at least a hundred years. She was wearing a long sleeved, high necked, bustled dress thing that was all black. How long had this ghoul been turned into a statue? Frankie wondered bolts sparking as she watched the witch girl.

"Finally I can have my revenge, and take my rightful place… at the top of Monster High!" Witch girl cackled, "Soon my name will be written on the pages of this school- forever!"

Well that didn't sound healthy, Frankie thought nervously watching the witch girl.

"Ok, ghouls," She whispered back at Clawdeen and Cleo, "When I say the word- we run. This witch is crazy- ghouls?" She turned around now to see that Cleo was gone. "Clawdeen, where is Cleo?" Frankie hissed at the wolf. Clawdeen shook her head and pointed.

The mummy could be seen climbing her way down heaps of jewelry towards what could only be her earring, a feat which was very impressive in six inch heels.

"What is she doing?!" Frankie whispered in horror.

"Going to get her earring apparently." Clawdeen replied, hiding her face in her hands.

"Ah-ha! Gotcha!" Cleo announced proudly, swooping down and picking up her lost earring, "Mommy's here now."

The witch girl turned immediately to face Cleo. "Who are you?" Witchie demanded.

"Who am I? Who do you think I'm-" Cleo began only to be cut off by Witch girl.

"No I can tell. Gold make-up, blue streaked hair, the attitude of a royal brat. I know exactly who you are. Your a De Nile. The perfect test subject to get my magic pulsing." Witch said, narrowing her eyes and stretching out her hands.

Frankie jammed her eyes shut as the bolt of energy screamed from Witch girl's fingertips and smashed into Cleo dead on. She wished she could close her ears too though as Cleo screamed and the Witch laughed. Oh my ghoul, she thought to herself in horror, what have we stumbled on? Why didn't we pay attention to those signs? Why didn't teen scream magazine ever go over anything like this? And how were they ever going to get out of this?

* * *

End Chapter.

Taking a break from my nintendo sword boys fic to muck about with monsters.

For these girls, freaky just got FRIGHTENING.

/dies from cornyness


	2. Chapter 2

"Aaaaahhhh!" Cleo cried before finally actually opening her eyes. It took her a good minute to realize that she was still in fact alive, in one piece, and hadn't been turned into a newt or anything.

"Wait.. you didn't do anything? What kind of a lame excuse for a witch are you?"

"The one who not only fixed your fashion sense but is also glad to be able to stretch the old magic fingers," The witch girl laughed, Cleo looked first down at herself, then up at the witch girl. She wasn't sure which thing made her more angry. On the one hand the witch girl had transformed herself into Cleo, as in, literally Cleo. She had Cleo's hair and shoes and dress and perfect eyeliner and jawline, and, while Cleo was flattered, she was horrified. On the other hand, the witches 'fashion fix' had been to zap Cleos designer party dress into some corseted multi-petticoated pre-victorian monstrosity with poofy sleeves and a hoop skirt to boot.

"Do you-" Cleo found herself gasping for breathe in the Devil's grip that was that corset, "Have any idea," She gasped again, "Who you are dealing with?"

"Of course I do. The most popular girl in school." Witch girl, Cleo's now doppelganger replied snidely, "And now I'm gonna go have some fun, from the sounds of it there's a party nearby and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world," Cackling the witch left, with Cleo's earring no less.

"Cleo! Oh my ghoul! Are you ok?" Frankie asked stepping out from behind the pile of bling with Clawdeen in tow.

"Yea girl- we just saw a flash of light and...oh." Clawdeen stopped mid-sentence. Cleo could guess why. The dress.

"Do I look like I'm all right?" Cleo wailed, attempting to flail her arms dramatically but being unable to lift them properly. I've only been knocked back almost two centuries in fashion! Oh this is horrible, this is simply the worst possible thing. Ever.

"You look like a cupcake." Clawdeen observed, "Serves you right."

"Serves me right?! Did you see what she did? Do you know how much that dress I was wearing before cost? Do you know-"

"Ghouls! Not to be rude or anything but we should probably stop her from ruining the party!" Frankie interrupted Cleo. How dare she! Interrupting someone as royal as I in mid-rant. Oh my Ra. Well... she did have a point.

"You really think she's something to worry about?" Clawdeen asked, raising a brow, "I mean all she did to Cleo was change her clothes."

"I don't know..." Frankie furrowed her brow as if in thought, "I just know that I have a really bad feeling about this. We've got to stop her before she does anything."

"If not just to stop her from parading around as me," Cleo added, "Only I am allowed to be me. The nerve of that witch..." Cleo tut-tuted under her breath, trying to decide just what kind of monster would have those kind of guts.

"Well then we better hurry, cause something tells me you're gonna be slow in that dress." Clawdeen said, already turning for the door, "So come on!"

"Ghouls! Wait for me!" Cleo begged, really wishing that she'd thought to pack a spare dress or... or something! Not that she'd have time to change. But really. Was this really how ghouls used to dress? Did Draculaura really put up with this sort of thing? Cleo had in all honesty, not that she'd ever let the others know, missed this particular wave of fashion. When it came out, or at least close to it, the De Nile tomb had only just been unearthed, and while Nefera had been happy to leap out into the monster social world right away, Cleo had been.. anxious. That anxiety couldn't be helped of course, after all, she'd spent five thousand years in the dark with only Nefera and Daddy to keep her company. Not exactly ideal on the mummy psyche. She didn't like to think about that time.

"Sorry Cleo," Clawdeen said looking back and shaking her head, "Do you want some help?"

"A princess never asks for help," Cleo replied, and instantly regretted it. It's what Nefera would say, but it was also the stupid answer.

"Suit yourself." Clawdeen muttered, "We're basically there anyways,"

Cleo came to stand between the other two ghous; the door to the party in sight. All right Cleo, she thought to herself, time to get in there and clean up after the rabble. She stomped her way forward, forcefully pushing against the bulk of the dress towards the hidden door; held open by one of her Anubis servant bouncers. The Anubis servant gave her a surprised look when she came tramping over in all her lace and silk, but he then promptly looked away. Good servant. She'd hate to have to yell at him.

"Alright ghouls," She said, completely sick of all of this already, "I'm going in." She shoved her way into the doorway. It was a tight fit but she was sure she could make it.. she had to. She was on a mission. She could see the party ahead of her; people still dancing without a care, Holt djing, Heath had set the ice sculpture on fire... somehow. The party looked completely normal. Except for one thing: that witchy little doppelganger was standing next to Deuce. No, leaning against him.

"Oh my Ra!" She roared and shoved with all her might against the dress and the door, only to get stuck. "No! No! No!" Cleo wailed wriggling uselessly against the stuff structural supports of the dress.

"Cleo, what's the matter? Are you stuck?" Cleo could hear Frankie saying from somewhere behind her and all of the dress.

"Yes! And that little witch is being touchy with Deuce!" Cleo practically screamed back, desperately trying to wrestle her way through the door. If she had to she would strip down to her under-wrappings if it meant getting that little beast away from her boyfriend.

"Ah heck no." Clawdeen said, "All right, Cleo, pull with all your might- we're gonna push."

If they were pushing, Cleo couldn't feel it. There was literally that much dress between her and them. She was doomed.

Oh Ra it was worse than she thought. That witch was yelling at Deuce now. If only I could hear... ugh! Figures she simply had to have Holt DJ for this party. Cleo focused, trying to get anything out of it. Deuce was shaking his head with... confusion? Doppelganger Cleo stomped her foot and pointed at... Holt? What, was the music too loud on her little victorian ears? Deuce looked even more confused and said something to her... she spoke back... he replied and then. Wow. Doppel-Cleo erupted. Hands on her head, seething anger. This couldn't be just about music. Deuce took a step towards the other Cleo but was then thrown back against the wall by some invisible force. The entire party went quiet then, and Holt scratched his discs in surprise. Literally the entire party had frozen in place over, oh Ra no, a lovers spat that wasn't even a spat!

"Deuce!" Cleo cried out finally pulling herself free from the door, hoisting up her skirts she ran to the aid of her fallen boyfriend. Other Cleo didn't even look up, she had her mind on some other prize.

"Deuce! Are you alright?" Cleo demanded, blanketing him in her skirts. His glasses had been knocked off in the fall and she hastily found them a slight corset-battle reach away.

"Cleo...?" Deuce asked puzzled as he put his glasses back on. "What's going on...?"

Cleo was about to give a witty remark about him being Rett Butler or something but she never got the chance, because her doppelganger seemed to have found her goal.

"Hyde!" The Doppelganger roared, one hand pointed straight at Holt.

"Something eatin' ya Cleo?" The blue skinned monster asked raising a pierced brow, "Cause listen, if something's up with you and Deuce I want nothin' to do with it ya hear?"

"Oh you really think this is over something so petty?" Doppel-Cleo snarled, making her way towards the DJ booth, dropping the Cleo illusion as she went.

"Hey, uh. Listen if you wanna request a song, the time for that is later lady, and you don't have to put on no disguises for that or nothing. If it's a good tune I'll play-" he was cut off as the Witch did a literal Darth Vader force grip.

"Holt!" Frankie screamed from the doorway, "We've got to help him!"

"Oh good luck helping him when he's torn to pieces and dying! Just like how he left me all those years ago!" Witch raged.

"Lady- I am pretty positive I have never met you. Ever. Now if you have something you wanna take up with Jackson, be my guest but uh," He stopped, gasping for breath and grabbing uselessly at his throat. Oh my ra, Cleo thought horrified, she's actually going to do it!

"Oh of course it wasn't you. I'm not stupid. No let's say this is more of a blood matter. I'm talking about a different Mr. Hyde here, but of course you'd know all about him," Witch said raising her arm and in turn lifting Holt off the floor. The entire party seemed frozen in place; those who tried to move to help, to run, to do anything, were literally frozen in place. They couldn't move. Frankie... Frankie was crying. Cleo wanted to look away to do something, anything, but she couldn't and that was the worst.

"No. No I- really don't," Holt gasped, now levitating well above the party.

"Don't even try lying to me Hyde. You'll take my revenge."

"Wait wha-"

Cleo jammed her eyes shut as a bright light filled the room as well as the sound of Holt screaming. When she opened them, she saw the Witch standing there looking smug, Holt was no where to be seen. No. No... no... no.. oh my Ra. Oh my Ra... oh my...

"Let this be the first warning to you all; you may party without me tonight- but soon you will all bow beneath me and I will rule not only this school; but the world!" The Witch cackled, striding confidently out the door, just as she was leaving she looked back behind her and added, "Ta ta!" brightly before vanishing in a puff of green smoke. The moment the smoke was gone Cleo, and the rest of the party could move again. Altough she wasn't sure how much she wanted to move, or could move for that matter in the darned dress.

"Oh my ghoul.. Holt." Frankie whispered, standing just under where he had been levitating a moment before, "She... she..."

Deuce got up, helping Cleo to her feet as he did so.

"I just can't beleive man... she... he... that's just..."

"Just so what? I'm fine, Frankie Fine" A familiar voice rang out from off to the side. Wait. What? Cleo turned round, slower than she would have liked in that monstrosity, pardon her generalization, of a dress. Sure enough, standing cool as ever, in one piece she noted, was Holt Hyde.

"Holt!?" Frankie gawked, "but how? She.. she.. vaporized you!" Frankie ran over to join her blue friend who merely laughed saying.

"Well you know, you can't keep a good monster down!"

"Wait... Holt?" Another, also familiar voice spoke up and now a knot of uneasiness entered the pit of Cleo's stomach. And it was not because of the corset.

"Jackson?" Frankie said baffled.

"Jackson!" Holt yelled a bit more confused than Frankie.

"Yea... who else?" The normie boy said creeping out from behind the DJ booth.

"But, but.. how?" Cleo gawked looking from one boy to the other, really wishing that one of them would disappear and not confuse her anymore.

"I.. I don't know." Jackson replied wrinkling his brow, "The last thing I remember was letting Holt out for the party."

"That witch lady! She's to blaaaame! She's gone and split up the two man act of Jekyll and Hyyyyde! But whhhhhhy would she do that?" Holt exclaimed, going into full on word-exaggerating and shouting mode.

"I don't know." Frankie murmured, "But whatever the reason, it can't be good."

No, Cleo agreed internally, it couldn't.

End chapter 2.

Authors Note:

Well now things are getting interesting :D

What the heck is that witch lady up to?

Will Jackson and Holt fall apart at the seams?

And will Cleo ever find her way out of that dress?

Tune in next time, same freaky author, same fabulous website to find out more :D


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